Jacinta
Alright, so what if I do this-I pretend that I’m in the mood for tea and tell Alice to bring me a steaming teapot. When she does, I splash the boiling water at Hector, throw the teapot at Marco, run to the entrance, and there…what’s there?
I purse my lips and tap the tip of my pencil against the notebook.
Well, there Paolo will probably catch me again, and he’ll be pissed off again, right? So maybe he’ll touch me again, and if I don’t push him away too much, Paolo will help me reach my peak.
My thighs instinctively fidget, the muscles in my belly tightening sweetly at the thought-and damn it, why am I thinking about it again? I
groan under my breath and shut my eyes. I have to focus on the escape, not this stupid asshole!
But I can’t help myself.
As soon as my mind comes back to yesterday evening, I can’t stop it. The memories of his body pressed against mine and his hands touching me for the first time flood me with a mixture of excitement and horror- because why the hell did I like it? It was a horrible, horrible experience, and yet my heart starts to beat faster when I imagine Paolo holding me again.
I know Paolo doesn’t actually like me, but even if he’s just interested in my body, I…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t mind. My desire to experience more with him goes beyond my own pride.
You know, when he first slapped my thighs and threatened to torture me in the park, I wasn’t sure if I was reading those signals right. I mean, I’d never been so close to a man, and I’d never been teased that way. Besides, I’m not exactly the kind of a girl someone like Paolo would be interested in or at least, that was what I thought at first.
But now, I’m not so sure anymore. Why would Paolo look at me with so much lust when he came to my room? Why would he push me
against the wall? Why would he turn our fight into sexual teasing that made me so weak and needy? When Paolo pulled his hand away and left me so hot and bothered, oh, I was ready to stab him!
I couldn’t sleep at all last night, rolling in my bed and thinking about him. My body was on fire, unable to forget the traces of his touches, and in one of my feverish dreams Paolo was there in my bed, holding me against the sheets and looking into my eyes with a smirk. Even now, I feel my body respond to the memory with a wave of warmth-but it shouldn’t be like that, it shouldn’t be!
Paolo is an asshole who stole my freedom and is now keeping me here against my will. He is my worst enemy, not a knight in shining armor, and I hate him! But I’m not sure anymore if it’s because of who he is-or because of the way he makes me feel.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, Jacinta.”
Speak of the devil. I purse my lips and look up to see Paolo walking down the stairs. Yes, I rarely stay in the living room for long, but today I decided to keep an eye out for any chance at escape. He doesn’t think I’m here to wait for him, does he? At least, it doesn’t look like it. Paolo looks down at me with his eyebrows raised in an expression of fake surprise.
God, everything about him is just a facade of confidence and indifference. Is it so hard to be genuine? Ah, whatever. Why would I care? I force myself to ignore his presence-even though my heart is already beating faster-and look back down at my notebook. It’s hidden behind the cover of a book so that it’s not obvious what I’m doing here, but I guess it’s much easier to figure out than I expected.
“Are you planning another escape?” I hear Paolo’s steps coming closer to me, but I stubbornly refuse to look at him. I’m too worried that my eyes will betray the whirlpool of feelings in my chest.
He pauses for a second as if giving me a chance to respond, but when I still say nothing, Paolo hums. “I see. Well, I hope you don’t run away before dinner-I’d like to share it with you.”
What? I blink and, forgetting about my resolution, look at Paolo.
What kind of game is he playing now?
As soon as our eyes meet, Paolo chuckles, shaking his head, and I can feel the sound all the way down my body. Damn it. I tighten my fists and narrow my eyes, stubbornly holding his gaze. I can’t let him affect me like that. I’m not gonna show him any weakness!
“What do you mean?” I ask with what hopefully sounds like a calm and cold voice, and Paolo shrugs.
“I mean what I say. I want to have dinner with you tonight.” “Why?”
The corner of his lips rises into a smirk. “I believe we didn’t finish our conversation yesterday.”
A wave of heat spreads through my body, and my eyes widen- before the arousal triggers a burst of rage. How dare he speak to me like that? Does he actually think I’m gonna give up to him so easily? I’m not a goddamn whore!
I sit up straight and glare at him, trembling from anger, when Paolo adds, “Your offer was quite interesting, and I want to talk about it more.
Only this time, the dining knives should remain on the table.”
Oh. I blink. So he’s talking about the deal, huh? I breathe out and look away for a moment, recomposing myself. Of course. Why would he
even think about touching me again? I frown, unable to hide the frustration building up in my chest.
“What if I refuse to join you?”
“You don’t have any other choice if you want to have dinner tonight.”
So now he’s threatening to starve me, huh? I sharply turn to him with my eyes narrowed into a death stare, but Paolo doesn’t even wait for my answer. He turns away from me and walks away, patting my guard’s shoulder on the way. Goddamnit. He’s such an asshole.
Something in me wants to protest against this stupid threat and stay in my room all night-but that’s not gonna help me get out of here. No matter how much I hate Paolo, he’s my only ticket to freedom, so whatever it is he wants to discuss I have to be there to hear his offer and bargain my way out of here.
So when Alice comes to tell me that dinner is ready, I take a deep breath and follow her to the dining room. I’m wearing one of the many Italian dresses I’ve received since I came here; I was ignoring them till the last moment, refusing to accept any treats from the Messina Clan, but tonight is my chance to shine. I chose a black dress with tight-fit shoulders and bodice and a loose skirt covered with gilded flower patterns-and judging by the way Paolo’s gaze lingers on me when I enter, I made the right choice.
“You look beautiful, Jacinta.” Paolo even gets up from his seat, still looking at me, and I feel a shiver spreading from the inside.
It’s the first time I hear these words from someone who is not a part of my family, and I have to swallow the wave of embarrassment. He’s not serious, of course, it’s just politeness-but I can’t fight the memory of his gaze studying my body yesterday. Did he want me when he came into my room? Does he want me now?
I swallow, ignoring the wave of heat rising up my neck, and walk to the table with my heels clicking in the quiet of the room. There’s a modern fireplace in the wall, and its light is dancing on the dishes on the table.
There are only two settings next to each other, and even though I knew Paolo wanted to talk to me only, it still feels too intimate to realize that there’s no one here to distract me.
There’s no one to save me from the magnetizing darkness of Paolo’s
gaze.
“So where would you like to start?” Paolo gestures at the plates in front of us and turns to me with a questioning smile.
The dishes look and smell so delicious. I don’t know if he asked for it on purpose, but it’s clear that the dinner today is all about Mexican
cuisine. Plates with queso fundido, taquitos, and tostadas for starters surround the choice of two main dishes-steak fajita and beef barbacoa in the middle of the table. The finishing touches are two margaritas and a bottle of wine next to Paolo.
Everything looks fantastic, and any other day I wouldn’t stop before trying every dish on the table-but now, I feel the tension in my guts that doesn’t let go. In my family, it is important to share a meal with the people you care for. I can’t find it in myself to feel that way about Paolo, so instead of reaching for the food, I look at him.
“I’d like to start with your offer.”
Paolo doesn’t bat an eye, and his smile only grows wider. He hums and, quite demonstratively avoiding my gaze, reaches for the plate with taquitos.
“Interesting choice. But I’m pretty sure you know what I want.” He puts the plate back and looks up to meet my gaze. “Give me all the information on Gerardo, and I’ll let you go.”
Damn it. I try not to show my disappointment, casting my gaze to the table, but my hand grips the napkin on my lap tighter. I know that’s what Paolo wants-but despite my words yesterday, I can’t do it.
Everything I said was nothing but a trick.
I hate my place in the family, and I’d give anything to never go back home-but I still love my dad. He’s obsessed with security, he never listens to me, and he has no idea what I truly want. But I know that he loves me in his own way, and I…I can’t do that to him. I’d rather die in this mansion than betray my family.
“How can you prove you aren’t lying?” I say just to distract Paolo from the obvious hesitance in my silence and take a sip of margarita. I’m still not used to the way alcohol burns my throat, but the sweetness is pleasant enough to ignore it.
“Should I?” Paolo chuckles in the meantime, digging into the fajita, and glances at me with amusement. “Why do you think I’ve kidnapped you? To kill you? To keep you here forever?” He shakes his head. “No, I don’t want another hostage. What I want is to get rid of your family and force your dad to give up on his attempts at climbing higher. He’s never gonna claim the throne of Chicago, and I’m tired of losing people to this pointless fighting.”
“It’s not pointless.” I feel the burn of fire in my heart and look up at Paolo with a frown. He’s talking about my family as if we haven’t been defeating them for the last few months-or at least, that’s what Dad says.
“Dad is gonna kill you all.”
“Sure.” Paolo hums mockingly and looks at me with a cold smirk. “But then, we will kill you.”
That asshole-
“No, you won’t!”
“Yes, we will. Why else would we keep you? For your pretty face?” He chuckles, switching his attention to the food, but I keep glaring at him
with my cheeks hot and my hands in tight fists. Does he think I’m gonna believe him? Or does he expect me to get scared?
But before I gather my thoughts into a furious response, Paolo clears his throat and shrugs. “Unless, of course, you help me kill him first. It’s really simple, isn’t it? Either you or he should fall-and it’s up to you to make the choice.”
Our eyes meet, and I can see that Paolo is serious. Despite the mask of carelessness, his eyes are piercing right through me, demanding the right answer. But what is right? I bite my lip and look away with all my rage deflating like a balloon in my chest. Is it right to get my freedom? Is it right to betray Dad?
I sigh and shake my head. “I can’t do that.” “Take your time. Think about it.”
“No, I’m sure.” I close my eyes and shake my head even harder. “I can’t do that, not to Dad.”
There’s a beat of silence, and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. What if I offered him someone else? What if I begged him for freedom? What if-
“Well, it is your choice, Jacinta.”
“Is there any other way…?” I whip up my head, but Paolo doesn’t even look at me.
He’s focused on making a taco for himself, but I can see how tight his jawline is and how grimly he stares in front of himself. Yeah. Nothing I have to offer will make any difference, and Paolo proves it by straight up ignoring my question and looking up only to offer a plate with taquitos.
“Are you sure you don’t want to try the food? It looks like you’re gonna stay here for a while.”
His calm smirk is fake, that’s obvious, and I don’t want to agitate him more. Besides, it looks like my stress finally gave way to hunger, and my mouth waters at the smell of cilantro. I accept the plate with a nod, and for the next few minutes we eat in silence, each contemplating what just happened.